Happy Holidays! Here’s a lump of coal, no two, and some coal ash slurry to wash it down with. Don’t worry, it’s “clean coal!”

The Coal Grinches aren’t here to steal Christmas gifts from Whoville residents. They’re here to steal a safe climate, clean water and breathable air from every American man, woman and child. And we won’t know when they’ve come and gone, thanks to the White House’s apparent neglect (or shutdown?) of the “open government” records of its meetings with lobbyists.

Arianna Huffington recently pointed out statements[7] that Barack Obama made about government transparency as a candidate and early on in his presidency, noting that he hasn’t followed through on his rhetoric, and in fact seems headed down the well-worn path laid by the transparency-trampling Bush administration.

Back in the year 2007, B.W. (Before WikiLeaks), Barack Obama waxed lyrical about government and the internet: “We have to use technology to open up our democracy. It’s no coincidence that one of the most secretive administrations in our history has favored special interest and pursued policy that could not stand up to the sunlight.” …Not long after the election, in announcing his “Transparency and Open Government” policy, the president proclaimed: “Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing. Information maintained by the Federal Government is a national asset.”

Yet here we are closing the books on 2010 and the public is witnessing shockingly little openness and accountability from this, the “transparency”[8] Administration.

The Obama White House has opened its doors wide for coal lobbyists, and his regulatory agencies are struggling to stand up to the onslaught of coal industry lobbying dollars. Witness the recent and repeated delays and setbacks on critical regulations for dangerous coal industry practices that threaten public health and the environment.

Let’s take a look at coal industry lobbying efforts targeting the White House, or more specifically, at what little we know about just how extensive the reach of coal power players is under Obama’s watch.

OMB “Open Government” Records Scant To Begin With, Increasigly BarrenAccording to the Office of Management and Budget’s “open” meeting records database, the last publicly recorded meeting[9] between the White House, EPA staff and coal industry lobbyists took place on April 2, 2010.

Since then, we’ve seen zero OMB disclosure of further meetings with coal lobbyists. (Who thinks there haven’t been any?) In fact, there are no records of meetings[10] with outside lobbyists on any solid waste issue since September 22, 2010. Worse, there are few or zero records[11] of any 2010 meeting activity for other White House offices as well. (We know they are holding meetings, after all, that’s what they do.)

But it seems that a potentially useful tool designed by Sunstein’s office to allow the public access to basic information about meetings between White House and agency staff and outside lobbyists has either been neglected or abandoned entirely.

This lack of disclosure appears to defy the “Open Government Directive”[19] launched a year ago this month by the Obama administration. In practice, our window into the Obama adminstration’s meetings with lobbyists is currently draped with blackout curtains.

Coal Lobbyists Swarmed White House Last WinterThe best indication of how easily coal lobbyists are getting their message across to White House staff comes from last winter, when the coal ash issue was causing a rift[20] between the White House and EPA. An October 2010 report produced by DeSmogBlog and PolluterWatch[21] documented a lobbying swarm by coal ash interests involving dozens of secretive meetings with White House staff between October 2009 and April 2010.

The result? The coal lobbyists’ White House blitz achieved in short order exactly what the industry wanted by delaying federal regulation of coal ash waste indefinitely.

“We’ve promised that we will address regulation for coal ash by the end of the year [2009],” Jackson said[23]. “And so, by the end of the year, we’ll make that regulatory determination as to whether or not it’s hazardous.”

The never-ending coal ash battle demonstrates the immense success of coal industry lobbyists in 2010, and yet coal ash is only one – albeit a significant one – of the ongoing threats posed by our addiction to dirty, dangerous coal.

There’s also the continued assault on Appalachian communities and waterways posed by mountaintop removal mining.

A wise man once remarked:

“We’re tearing up the Appalachian Mountains because of our dependence on fossil fuels. We have to find more environmentally sound ways of mining coal than simply blowing the tops off mountains.”

How long will President Obama let the coal industry’s lobbyists dictate his policy response to the number one climate killing fossil fuel? How many more pollution-related deaths will result thanks to the lobbying muscle of polluters who are holding Obama’s regulatory agencies captive?

When will the Obama administration provide the records of all the meetings it has held with coal industry lobbyists in 2010 – and all other industry lobbyists for that matter?

“…since Democrats suffered heavy losses in November, lobbyists have seen administration officials more willing to work with business leaders, who are their clients.”

If this is what a thaw looks like, the chilly period sure was balmy. Get ready for a lobbying heat wave in 2011.

Will the Obama team, cowed by coal lobbyists, stand by and let Lisa Jackson get smacked around by the Tea Party thugs in Congress? If so, who is to be held accountable for the added deaths and impaired lives due to delayed coal pollution control? Congress or Obama himself?